In
1959, Rani (Nydoo) Govender (22 August 1944- 30 July 2005) and her sister Prema were amongst the first 3
South African girls to study a full repertoire of Bharata Natyam in India
(along with Sulochana Naidoo, who returned to South Africa, married shortly
after and emigrated ). Radha
Nydoo, the eldest sister of Rani and Prema, travelled with them, and was the
first South African Indian female to study the Veena.
While
in India, South African dancers were such a rarity that Rani and Prema were
interviewed by the BBC on their experiences, and were invited to tea with Prime
Minister Nehru. They worked harder
and put in longer hours than the local students at Saraswati Gana Nilayam, in
Triplicane, Madras under the tutelage of Srimathi K. Lalitha; as they completed
the full repertoire within 2 years, as opposed to the regular 5- 6 years of
training received at that time. They also took lessons from Dr.
Padma Subramanium, their neighbour and friend. All of this while still attending school.
(read more on our facebook page-Anavarata)
Rani was 15, young and starry
eyed. Hob-nobbing with the Moviestars of
the era such as Gemini Ganesan and Sivaji Ganesan were “ normal” for them. She had a passion for all things artistic,
she utilised her spare time to study and participate in dramas; film
documentaries; study visual art- all while completing her Matric, and even
secured a place at medical college- which she graciously declined.
She was also a fashion icon of her era; a beauty queen and an avid holistic healer- she introduced Pranic healing to South Africa and studied various other healing modalities – in her 50’s. She passed on in July of 2005 at the age of 60- still with the desire to Dance!!
Prema was 9, and just wanted to
dance. It is not surprising when every
move she makes is the epitomy of grace. She literally grew up on the
traditions and values of dance and in addition to their joint learning, Prema
returned to Bombay, where she studied The Benares Gharana of Kathak in 1974 on
a full-time basis, under the Maestro Guru Gopi Krishna.
David
Horner, lecturer at Salisbury Island
University and later Head of Dept of Speech and Drama, at UDW in the 70’s,
recruited Prema to lecture in Movement and Dance to the students who
included Suriya Govender and Robin
Singh.
Radha, a very young woman at the
time, was also the 1st South African woman to learn the Veena. As a child, Anusia fondly remembers being
drawn to her aunt’s practice sessions- the music was nothing short of
celestial.
She is a fantastic seamstress;
chef, mother- single parent to Yatish and Rekha, grand mother to 2 beautiful
girls. She taught pre- school for a
number of years, and proved that “Life
begins at 50”, when she graduated with a degree in education, and toured with ADI
to Mauritius & Malaysia in 1999 as a performing Dancer at the age of 60.
Anusia
studied at the same schools as her mother and aunt, and In addition, both
Rani and Anusia advanced their Kathak knowledge under Guru Rajender Gangani of
Kathak Kendra, in New Delhi, the son of Guru Kundanlall Gangani of the Jaipur
Gharana
She is the first South African exponent of Odissi,
and was selected as leader of the Malaysian Dance troupe in SA, and received
training in Kuala Lumpur in 2001 from the Malaysian government. In addition, she is an Honours graduate in
Social Work and has also studied Early Childhood Education. She
has worked on Disney productions such as “The Lion King” and “Beauty and the
Beast” in SA.
She Helped Rani realise the Rainbow dream of
Multiculturalism
Anusia currently serves as the Institute’s Chairperson & Artistic Director, and runs a unique Kathak Master Class that incorporates all 3 schools of Kathak, as well as Sufi Kathak. She continues to teach Bharata Natyam; Odissi; Kuchipudi; and other Folk and tribal dance styles alongside the Institutes’ Multicultural Repertoire. She continues to pursue her passion- to perform dance in all its forms.
